Self-relieving article transfer plate



United States Patent [72] Inventor Warren L. Ellis Lancaster, OhioPrimary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka AttorneyNorman N. Holland ABSTRACT: Anarticle transfer plate of the type used to transfer articles from onemoving conveyor to another where the articles pass onto the transferplate over a thin edge and where the movement of the articles across theplate is usually facilitated by the combined use of a plate vibratingmeans and an incline in the plate surface. The article receiving edge ofthe transfer or dead plate is improved by the provision of a series ofsmall individual transfer plates. The individual plates have afloating-type mounting arrangement which permits them to swing clear ofdebris on the conveyor which might otherwise strike and damage thearticle transfer edge of the dead plate. Additionally, the smallindividual transfer plates are detachably mounted whereby they may bequickly replaced by a simple manipulation. in the event one of the smallplates is damaged it may be quickly replaced without stopping theconveyor operation.

2,237,345 4/1941 Frentzel.......................

PATENTED [R22 I970 SHEET 2 [1F 2 SELF-RELIEVING ARTICLE TRANSFER PLATEThe present invention relates to an articletransfer plate or dead plateof the type which are used for passing articles from one articleconveying means to another. Such dead plates, for example, are widelyused in the manufacture of glassware and similar items to transferarticles such as glass containers and the like from one conveyor toanother. In transferring such articles and particularly glass articles,it is necessary to have a smooth transfer between the movingand-stationary conveyors or dead plates and for this reason the deadplates necessarily have a relatively thin article receiving edgeforpermitting the edge to be positioned closely adjacent to the movingconveyor. Eventh'ough these plates are made of relatively strongmaterial including stainless steel, the present plates are periodicallybent and otherwise damaged due to the presence of foreign articlessuchas small bits of broken glass on the moving conveyors. Even thoughthe present plates may be formed in several sections so that damage canbe repaired by the replacement ofasection, even thisrep'air procedureinvolves the replacement of a substantial portion of the relativelyexpensive stainless steel or other dead plate section and it alsoinvolves shutting down the system and dismantling an appreciable portionof the dead plate structure by removing threaded or other fasteners.

The present invention overcomes these difiiculties by formingthe leadingor article receiving edge-of the dead plate with a large number of smalltransfer plates. In addition, these plates have a universalfloating-type mounting which permits them to move within their own planeand also to swing above and below their plane to clear any foreignobjects present on the conveyor and which might otherwise damage thetransfer edge of the dead plate. l

Accordingly, anobject of the present invention is to provide an improvedarticle transfer plate or dead plate.

Another object of the present invention is to'provide an improvedvibratory-type dead plate havingka damage-resistant article transferedge. C

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple andinexpensive means for quickly replacing damaged portions of an articletransferdead plate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a damage-resistantarticle transfer plate.

Other and further objects of the invention will beobvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred't'o' herein will occur to one skilled in the art uponemployment of the invention in practice. 1 a

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes'ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part ofthe specification wherein;

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a preferred embodiment of theimproved article transfer plate positioned for transferring articlesbetween conveyors;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed perspective view of the preferredembodiment of the improved plate in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed top plan view partially cut away, and f iFIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 on FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a lehr. belt or conveyor 1carrying rows of containers 2 to a dead plate or transfer plate 3. Therows of containers 2 pass across the dead plate 3 onto a moving singleline container con'vey'or 4. The passage of the rows of containers 2 isfacilitated by. vibratory movement of the dead plate 3 by a vibrator 3Aand in addition the dead plate is usually sloped downwardly in thedirection of container movement. In order to provide for a smoothpassage of each of the containers 2 from the lehr belt I to the deadplate 3, a relatively thin transfer edge is normally provided on thedead plate adjacent to the end pulleyS of the lehr belt 1. This thinedge member in prior dead plate arrangements consists of either aunitary member or an edge formed in relatively large sections with eachof the sectionsbeing firmly attached to a main dead plate support.

The improvement of the present invention use of a relatively largenumber of narrow relief plates 6 mounted on the dead plate support 'landhavinga thin or beveled edge 8 positioned adjacent to the Iehr belt Ias more clearly shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 which illustrate a preferredfloating and detachable mounting forthe individual relief plates 6.

As best seen in FIGS. 2-4, the individual relief plates 6 preferablyhave an elongated shape including beveled front and rear edges 8 and 9to facilitate the transfer of the moving containers 2 over the reliefplates 6. Each individual relief plate 6 is provided with a floatingtype. of mounting by being removably attached to a mounting block 10. Inorder to permit the relief plates 6 to swing clear of debris on themoving lehr belt such as fragments of glass and'other objects, eachrelief plate 6 is tiltably attached to the mounting block 10 by means ofa pair of depending rods or rivets 11. The heads 12 of the rivets 11 areloosely coupled to the relief plates 6 by being loosely contained in anappropriate cavity 14 in a plate holddown member 13. The holddown member13 is welded or otherwise attached to the underside 15 'of the reliefplate- 6 with the heads 12 of the rivets 11 loosely-contained inthecavity 14. An appropriately shaped guide slot 16 is provided in theupper surface of the mounting block 10 to position the holddown members13 when the relief plates 6 are in their normal operating position asillustrated, for example, in FIG. 3. The rivets 11 pass loosely throughspaced vertical mounting holes 17 in the mounting block and they extenddownwardly into appropriately spaced guide slots 18 in a mounting flange19 attached to the dead plate support 7. The relief plates 6 arenormally held in a container transferring position by means of holddownmagnets 20 which releasably engage the holddown member 13 of plate 6 butwhich permit each relief plate 6 to lift upwardly on themounting blockin the event the plate 6 is engaged by an obstruction on the moving Iehrbelt 1. When this occurs, the relief plate 6 may swing upwardly asillustrated in dash-dot lines in FIG. 2.

In order to further providefor a relief movement or action of each ofthe relief plates 6, the mounting blocks 10 are slidably coupled to theedge of the dead plate support 7 by means of horizontal mounting shafts21. Each shaft 21 is fixedly attached to the mounting block 10 and isslidably retained in a suitable slot 22 in the dead plate support 7. Aroller bearing 23 is preferably provided to facilitate longitudinalmovement of the shaft 21 in thev event the relief plate 6 is forcedtowards the dead plate 3 by an 'obstr'uction on the lehr belt 1. Acompressed coil spring 24 urges the mounting block 10 forward to itsnormal operating position and an air outlet 25 is provided in themounting slot 22 to exhaust air beyond the moving shaft 21.

The rearward position of the mounting block 10 is deter mined by a stopplate 26 mounted on the dead plate support 7 and the normal forward oroperating position of each mounting block 10 is determined by the spacedguide slots 18 which removal for each plate 6 in the event it is worn ordamaged.

Each individual plate 6 may be lified clear of its mounting in' themanner illustrated by plate 6A in FIG. 2 by lifting the rivets 11 clearof their mounting holes 17 against the force of the plate retentionmagnets 20. It is'also clear that when the plate 6 has been lifted tothis point, the mounting block I0 is now free for removal or replacementsince the spaced rivets comprises the 11 on the relief plate 6 have nowbeen moved clear from the guide slots 18 so that the mounting block andits shaft 21 may be withdrawn from the slot 22 in the dead plate support7. Rapid replacement of one damaged or worn relief plate 6 for anotheris thus provided by a simple manipulation without requiring the removalof any screws or bolts or other fasteners and without requiring anyparticular tools. The edge of the vibrating dead plate may therefore bekept in proper operating order with little or no interruption inconveyor operation as an experienced operator may quickly replace-anindividual relief plate 6 during a brief interval when no containers arebeing transferred over the surface of the relief plates 6.

It will be seen that an improved article transfer plate such as avibrating dead plate is provided. The plate has an improvedcontainer-engaging edge where the individual portions of the edge have anovel mounting means which resists damage due to the floating nature ofthe relief plate mountings. In addition, the same mountings permitalmost instantaneous removal and replacement of the individual plates inthe event one of the plates should become worn or should become damaged.This operation is done quickly and simply by the machine operator in ahand manipulation without requiring the removal of screws and otherfasteners and without requiring special tools.

The improved plate edge arrangement utilizing the individual reliefplates is also of a rugged andrelatively simple design which is capableof operating at elevated temperatures is necessary and which also willfunction under almost any operating conditions including conveyoroperations where there may be liquid spray or other sources of fluid andspillage in the particular conveying operations.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

lclaim:

1. An improved articlereceiving edge portion for an article transferplate comprising the combination ofa plurality of relief platespositioned to form an edge of said transfer plate, a mounting member foreach relief plate, means for releasably attaching each relief plate toone of said mounting members for movement out of the plane of saidtransfer plate, and means for resiliently attaching each mounting memberto the transfer plate for movement generally in the plane of thetransfer plate, said means for attaching said relief plate to saidmounting member comprising guide members slidably connecting said reliefplate and said mounting member, and magnetic means for releasablyholding said relief plate and said mounting member together.

2. An improved article-receiving edge portion for an article transferplate comprising the combination of a plurality of relief platespositioned to form an edge of said transfer plate, a mounting member foreach relief plate, means for releasably attaching each relief plate toone of said mounting members for movement out of the plane of saidtransfer plate, and means for resiliently attaching each mounting memberto the transfer plate for movement generally in the plane of thetransfer plate, said means for attaching said mounting members to saidtransfer plate comprising a coupling shaft having its axis alignedgenerally parallel to the plane of the transfer plate.

3. In an article transfer means having an article guiding plate animproved article-receiving edge comprising the combination of aplurality of relief plates, and mounting means for said relief platesincluding means providing independent movement of each relief plate inthe plane of the guiding plate and tilting movement with respect to theplane of the guiding plate, said mounting means for said relief platescomprising mounting members slidably coupled tosaid guiding plate, andmagnetic means for releasably attaching said relief plates to saidmounting members.

4. ln an article transfer means having an article-guiding plateanimproved article-receiving edge comprising the commatron of a pluralityof relief plates, and mounting means for said relief plates includingmeans providing independent movement of each relief plate in the planeof the guiding plate and'tilting movement with respect to the plane ofthe guiding plate, said mounting means for each of said relief platesincluding a mounting block, resilient means slidably attaching saidmounting blocks to said guiding plate, guiding pins slidably couplingsaid mounting blocks and said relief plates, and magnetic meansreleasably coupling said relief plates and said mounting blocks.

5. An improved article-receiving edge portion for an article transferplate comprising the combination of a plurality of relief platespositioned to form an edge of said transfer plate, a

mounting member for each relief plate, means for releasably attachingeach relief plate to one of said mounting members for movement out ofthe plane of said'transfer plate, said means for attaching each reliefplate to a mounting member comprising a plurality of guide pins on therelief plate slidably engaging apertures in said mounting member and amagnet releasably holding said pins in said apertures and means forresiliently attaching each mounting member to the transfer plate, saidmeans for attaching said mounting members to said transfer platecomprising a coupling shaft having its axis aligned generally parallelto the plane of the transfer plate.

6. An improved vibrating dead plate for receiving articles from a movingconveyor and'for further advancing the articles comprising thecombination of an article transfer plate, means for vibrating saidplate, a plurality of relief plates extending from the conveyor to saidtransfer plate,means for yieldably mounting said relief plates on saidtransfer plate.

7. The dead plate as claimed in claim 6 in which said mounting means forsaid relief plates comprises mounting members vslidably coupled to saidtransfer plate, and magnetic means for releasably attaching said reliefplates to said mounting members.

8. The dead plate as claimed in claim 6 in which said mounting means foreach of said relief plates includes a mounting block, resilient meansslidably attaching said mounting blocks to said transfer plate, guidingpins slidably coupling said mounting blocks and said relief plates, andmagnetic means releasably coupling said relief plates and said mountingblocks.

